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This chart, provided by Citibank/Salomon Smith Barney Inc., tracks bid-ask prices for par credit facilities that trade in the secondary market. It also tracks facility amounts, ratings, pricing and maturities.

Confident that the Federal Reserve easing policy has set the foundation for an economic recovery, Wells Capital Management will increase its MBS allocation by $100 million through the sales of some treasury bonds. In addition, and for the same amount, the firm will be moving down the credit spectrum on its corporate allocation in order to capture more yield, says Paul Single, portfolio manager with the San Francisco-based asset management firm.

The success of integrating WorldPages.com Inc. into TransWestern Publishing LLC is key to the credit quality of the San Diego-based yellow pages publisher. Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Ba3 rating to TransWestern Publishing LLC's proposed $300 million secured credit facility partially backing the acquisition, reflecting the risks associated with on-going acquisitive growth. Kendra Smith, v.p., senior analyst at Moody's, believes that "the company has proven themselves to be very effective in integrating previous acquisitions, but in the near-term the situation will be monitored, as this is a very large acquisition for them."

Moody's Investors Service lowered the rating of FleetPride Inc.'s $149 million senior secured bank facilities to B3 from B1 due to continued poor operating performance. Sales in the first three months of 2001 decreased by about 11% to $122 million and operating income decreased by more than 70% to $2 million as operating margin for the period showed significant reduction. FleetPride, headquartered in Deerfield, Ill., is the nation's largest independent aftermarket distributor of heavy-duty truck and trailer parts. However, the ratings also recognizes the strong equity sponsorship and support, and the market leading position of the company.

After holding steady in the 95 range, Nextel Communications debt took a point and a quarter dive late last week. Dealers maintain that the credit, which has risen above sector problems, should quickly pull itself back up. Nextel is based in McLean, Va. Calls to company officials were not returned by press time.

A $40-50 million block of Owens Corning's bank debt traded at 64-66 last Wednesday, which is up from the low 60s for the credit. Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown was rumored to be involved, although that could not be confirmed with officials. Owens Corning, based in Toledo, Ohio, manufactures fiberglass for vinyl siding and asphalt. "Operationally, the company is doing well. The reason we filed for bankruptcy is the asbestos situation," a company spokesman said. He declined to comment on trading levels. Deutsche Banc officials declined to comment.

Phoenix Investment Partners, historically an issuer of collateralized bond obligations, has tapped the leveraged loan market for the first time to attract investors into its $300 million collateralized debt obligation, Nova CDO 2001, which closed last month. Nelson Correa, managing director of alternative products, said discussions to warehouse leveraged loans for the vehicle started roughly six months ago as arbitrage spreads became attractive in the leveraged loan and high-yield markets. At the same time, luring equity investors into deals became more difficult. "Loans make the deal more attractive because investors are more receptive because of the higher recovery rates," said Correa, explaining that equity typically dictates deal size and finding equity investment in a rising default rate environment would have been challenging on a purely high-yield deal. Correa said the company is working on an upcoming multi-sector deal and is keeping its eye on Europe as it continues to plan deals other than CBOs.

USG Corporation's levels reportedly started the week in the low 60s, jumped to 68, and dropped bak to 61 as speculation surrounds the company about whether it will stay out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Dealers say levels plummeted to the low 60s from the 80s early last week. A reported $20 million total changed hands. "With uncertainty about whether they're going to file or not, people will start punting it," a trader remarked. "Once they know what's happening, it'll trade back up. The weak hands are gone." USG, based in Chicago, Ill., manufactures sheet rock.

Venator Group, a New York-based specialty athletic retailer, replaced $125 million of its outstanding $300 million bank debt with a convertible deal, refinancing only the remaining $175 million in the loan market. "The convertible market today is very deep and liquid, so we wanted to take advantage of that and at the same time rely less on the bank market, which isn't as deep as it once was," said Peter Brown, v.p. of investor relations at Venator. "We were able to convert something more temporary into something more permanent," said Brown, noting that the maturity on the notes is four years longer than on the bank debt. Brown explained the company will receive slightly more than the $300 million it refinanced as the $175 million credit facility was oversubscribed and raised to $190 million. The company now has a new three-year, $190 million credit facility in addition to $125 million in seven-year convertible outstanding notes. The notes have a coupon of 5.5% and convert to stock at a price of $15.806 or a premium of 23%, said Brown.

VoiceStream's "A" and "B" tranches both traded up over par last week, with some dealers attributing the notch up to the merger to Deutsche Telekom. One trader explained that investors believe Deutsche Telekom will call the paper at par in the near future, which will buoy levels. The investor relations department did not return calls.

Washington Group's levels made a slight recovery last week with a trade into the 65-67 range from the low 60s. The size of the piece could not be ascertained. Dealers emphasize that the company's legal snare over Raytheon Construction & Engineering is still real, but say things aren't all bad. "If they're able to neutralize their problems with Raytheon, things should be looking up for them," said a trader. "If you look at the future business, there are tons of power plants that need to be built. It's the legal situation that's still bad." Another market watcher remarked that the company's ability to secure interim financing is the real issue to watch. "The company melts down if the banks don't supply the credit," he said. Last Wednesday the company secured debtor-in-possession financing, said a spokeswoman.

Supply is turning back up again after a two-week lull, although it is still nothing like May's pace. The four-week moving average is still under $17 billion for high yield, emerging markets and corporates, down from the $20 billion plus per week in May. The primary market has also become more measured. While deals flew out the door on top of secondary market levels in May regardless of credit concerns, investors are taking a harder look in June. Average weighted credit quality of deals has remained stable around single A, although better quality credits are generally sticking at the shorter end of the curve. The high yield calendar also remains relatively active, with just short of $2 billion priced in the last week.